Landowners in the West will have one of their own heading up the Interior Department in the new Obama Administration. According to published reports, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) will be named the 50th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior…
Fire destroyed Mack Louden’s century-old Marty Feeds building in Trinidad on September 15. Louden, a local rancher who has been spearheading opposition to Fort Carson’s proposed expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, had insurance on just a portion of the property.…
The U.S. Senate is close to approving a $72 billion military construction budget that would effectively prevent the Army from spending any money to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site for another year. But opponents of the expansion are by no…
Pressure from grassroots opponents of the U.S. Army’s attempt to seize 420,000 acres of privately-owned land in southeast Colorado is starting to produce some results in Washington. While he’s been a lukewarm supporter of Colorado ranchers in their fight with the…
Mack Louden’s most memorable feature isn’t his sunbaked skin or his steely eyes. It’s his determination. The man’s face is optimistically defiant, unbroken yet scarred, and colored by a tinge of melancholy and pessimism.
For more than a year The Land Report has been tracking the largest proposed seizure of private property by the federal government in modern history: the Battle for Pinon Canyon. It pits ranchers in southeast Colorado against an opponent that’s not used to losing…
First, the Army set off a firestorm when it announced its intention to use eminent domain to condemn 400,000 acres of family farms and ranches in order to triple the size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Then lightning strikes…
Lightning has struck twice. The Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is front-page news yet again, only this time the focus of the controversy is not just eminent domain but wildfire.
With more than 15 million acres of military bases, training centers, and maneuver sites, the US. Army ranks as one of Americas largest landowners. But when it comes to taking territory, shock and awe are not its most formidable weapons.…